your head,
boy...."

Greg stopped, glaring at Tawney and gasping for breath. The company man
picked himself up, rubbing his hand across his mouth. For a moment he
trembled with rage. Then he gripped the table with one hand, forcibly
regaining his control. He even managed a sickly smile. "Just like your
father," he said, "too hot-headed for your own good. But we'll let it
pass. I brought you here to make you an offer, a very generous offer,
and I'll still make it. I'm a businessman, when I want something I want
I bargain for it. If I have to share a profit to get it, I share the
profit. All right ... you know where your father's strike is. We want
it. We can't find it, so you've got us over a barrel. We're ready to
bargain."

Greg started forward. "I wouldn't bargain with you for...."

"Shut up, Greg," Johnny said.

Greg stared at him. The big miner's voice had cracked like a whip; now
he was drawing Merrill Tawney aside, speaking rapidly into his ear.
Tawney listened, shot a venomous glance across at Greg, and finally
nodded. "All right," he said, "but I can't wait forever...."

"You won't have to."

Tawney turned to the guard. "You have your orders," he said. "They're to
have these quarters, and the freedom of the ship, except for the outer
level. They're not to be harmed, and they're not to be out of your sight
except when they're locked in here. Is that clear?"

The guard nodded. Tawney looked at Johnny, and started for the door,
still rubbing his jaw. "We'll talk again later," he said, and then he
was gone.

When the guard had left, and the lock buzzed in the door, Johnny looked
at Greg and shook his head sadly. "You just about fixed things, boy, you
really did. You've got to use your head if you want to stay alive a
while, that's all. Look, there isn't going to be any bargaining with
Tawney, he just doesn't work that way. It's heads he wins, tails we
lose. Once he has what he wants we won't last six minutes. All right,
then there's just one thing that can keep us alive ... stalling him.
We've got to make him think you'll give in if he plays his cards right."

Greg was silent for a minute. "I hadn't thought of it that way."

"And we've got to use the time we have to find some way to break for
it." Johnny stood up, staring around the luxurious lounge. "If you want
my opinion, it's going to take some pretty fancy footwork to get out of
here with our skins."

* * * * *

T